Integrating with other apps will enable you to set up reminders and meetings that automatically go into your contacts' calendars, or find directions to a specific location without you having to physically open the Maps app and tap in your desired end point.

Ruining pub quizzes forever

It will also come with Wolfram Alpha integration, with the computational fact engine able to answer your trivia questions automatically – no more Googling at the pub quiz, you'll be able just to hold your phone out near the question master and enjoy your ill begotten answers.

The Assistant details have been eked out by 9to5Mac using snippets of code and information from insider sources; the site also reports that older iterations of the iPhone won't be able to make use of Assistant as it'll require an A5 processor – something that the next iPhone has been heavily rumoured to have.

The all-singing all-dancing Assistant certainly sounds feasible to us and, although it's software based, if it requires as-yet unannounced hardware like that A5 processor, we can see why Apple wouldn't have included it in the iOS 5 unveiling in June.